David Petraeus Willing to Join Trump Admin. Under Certain Circumstances

Retired four-star general and former CIA director David Petraeus told Politico in an interview published on Tuesday that he is considering joining the Trump administration, although he said he would do so only under certain circumstances.

He did not reveal what those circumstances would be, but did confirm he has been in discussions with the Trump administration about being secretary of state or national security adviser.

Petraeus said he is still in contact with top members of Trump's national security team, such as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who was a fellow division commander in Iraq, and with national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who was his mentee and remains a friend.

Petraeus said that Trump's tweets are not the most reliable guide to his foreign policy, and "what you should follow more is the troops, the money and the substance of policies."

Petraeus is supportive of Trump's policy of transferring more authority to generals in the field and insists that for all of the president's inflammatory rhetoric, his foreign policy has been "more continuity than you might have expected."

However, Petraeus does worry about uncertainty concerning what Trump's "America First" doctrine means about the traditional role of the United States in the post-World War II era, saying there has not been the same kind of very aggressive promotion of the virtues of democracy and free-market economics.

Petraeus said that recent presidents before Trump have been very active promoting these values, believing that "the more democracy in the world, the better for the United States, the more these values and freedoms and so forth are embraced, and the better for our country as well."

However, Trump has not pressed these important themes nearly as much, Petraeus said, and acknowledged that, for example, the president's constant attacks on journalists are not in keeping with the democratic spirit.

Retired four-star general and former CIA director David Petraeus told Politico in an interview published on Tuesday that he is considering joining the Trump administration, although he said he would do so only under certain circumstances.